The auditions are over and Australia has a Test squad, but there is much to dissect from the anointed ones and those who were overlooked for the first Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Perth beginning next Thursday. Nathan McSweeney has been appointed opener, Josh Inglis is a wildcard selection and one Australian great still thinks he should still be in contention for the opening role, while Scott Boland earned the nod as reserve fast bowler as expected. From uncapped Australians to new dads and the merits of Sheffield Shield form, Fox Cricket considers the Talking Points from the unveiling of the Test squad.
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HOW TOUGH WAS THE CHOICE TO OPT FOR McSWEENEY OVER TRADITIONAL OPENERS? It has been the hottest topic in Australian cricket for the past six weeks. With Steve Smith returning back to his preferred No.4 spot and Cameron Green sidelined with stress fractures to his back, the race was on to find a new opener to partner Usman Khawaja.
It was billed as the great Australian ‘bat off’ and Sam Konstas, Marcus Harris, Cameron Bancroft and Nathan McSweeney set about bolstering their resumes before the latter was given the role. He starts his new job in Perth on Thursday, November 22. After a month of Sheffield Shield matches and two Australia A vs India A fixtures, the national selectors opted to select t.
